i/; — 


"-  No.  81, 

MUSTERED  INTO  SERVICE. 

BY    A    CHAPLAIN    IN    THE    C.    8.    ARMY. 

You  have  been  "mustered   into  service,"  my  beloved 
friend,  m   the   presence  of  your  fellow-soldiers,  of  holy 
angels  of   God,  your  creator  and    preserver;   you   have 
solemnly  sworn  to  support,  protect  and  defmd  the  dig- 
nity and  honor  of  this  young  Confederacy       You  have 
come   up  manfully   to  the  defence  of  your  invaded,   in- 
sulted  f*ih«riand.      The   sons  of   the   heroes  of   King's 
Mountain,   the    gallant    and    chivalrous  descendants  "of 
Moultrie  and   of  Marion,   the    sturdy    yeomanry  of   the 
land  of  Oglethorpe,  the  patriot  and   the  philanthropist, 
have    already    been     "mustered     into    service."       The 
broad   bosom   of  the  fertile   West  has  poured   forth   her 
rich  tribute  of  strong    arms    and    stout    hearts    at    her 
country's    feet;   the    golden    gates    of   the  sunny  South 
have  been  opened  wide  to  admit  her  swelling  streams  of 
money  and  of  men;   from  hill  and  vale,  from    mountain 
top  and   ocean  beach,  old  Virginia's  sons  have   risen   up 
like  one  man— her  blades  of  grass  being   transformed 
into  armed  legions  by  the  touch  of  Iihuriel's  spear. 

A  company  of  soldiers  had  been  defeated  and  routed 
by  the  enemy.  Two  of  the  devoted  band  were  wan- 
dering, in  company,  through  the  dismal  wastes  of  a 
wild  and  rugged  mountain.  The  blinding  snow  beat 
fearfully  in  their  faces,  and  the  rude  and  wintry  winds 
howled  mournfully  around  them.  For  a  time  they 
went  bravely  on  their  dreary  path  ;  but  with  the  deep- 
ening shades  and  freezing  blasts  of  night  there  fell  a 
weight  upon  their  brain  and  eyes  which  seemed  to  be 
irresistible.  Presently  the  foot  of  the  foremost  struck  a 
heap  that  lay  across  their  path.  No  stone  was  that, 
though  no  stone  could   be  colder.     It  was  the  body  of 


MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE. 


one  of  their  number,  who  had  laid  himself  down  to  die, 
far  away  from  his  home  and  his  cherished  friends.. 
The  one  stopped  to  examine  the  cold  and  senseless 
matter  which  Jay  at  his  feet.  The  other  passed  on  his 
way,  thinking  only  of  his  own  preservation.  The  next 
moment  the  noble  soldier  had  taken  a  companion  in  his 
arms,  was  chafing  his  chest,  hands  and  brow,  breathing 
upon  the  stiff,  cold  lips  the  warm  breath  of  his  living 
soul,  pressing  the  silent  heart  to  the  beating  pulse  of 
his  own  generous  bosom.  The  eflbrt  to  save  another 
had  brought  back  to  himself  life,  and  warmth,  and 
energy.  Hand  in  hand  they  wound  their  weary  way 
down  the  bleak  sides  of  the  desolate  mountain,  only 
to  find  their  companion,  who  had  passed  on,  cold  and 
silent  in  the  chilling  embrace  of  death.  He  saved 
his  fellow  soldier,  and  was  saved  himself.  Soldiers  of 
the  Confederate  army,  "go  thou   and  do  likewise." 

Your  being  ''mustered  into  service"  implies,  my  fel- 
low soldier,  that  the  allegiance  which  you  once  owed  to 
another  is  now  no  longer  binding.  As  long  as  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  afforded  you  protection  for 
your  liberty  and  your  life,  to  it  you  belonged,  and  its 
laws  you  were  bound  to  obey.  This  allegiance  is  now 
honestly  and    honorably  due  to  another. 

Christian  soldier,  have  you  utterly  renounced  all  al- 
legiance to  the  world,  to  the  flesh,  to  the  devil?  Have 
you  given  up  all  the  enjoyments  which  the  world  af- 
forded, have  you  abandoned  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh, 
have  you  solemnly  abjurea  all  connection  with  the 
devil's  dominion?  If  so,  then  you  are  a  worthy  soldier; 
you  deserve  a  high  position  in  the  ranks;  you  merit 
honorable  mention  at  the  hands  of  your  leaders.  If 
you  have  not  complied  with  these  requirements,  then 
you  have  no  right  to  fight  under  the  banner  of  the 
Cross;  your  name  should   be   stricken  from  the  muster- 


MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE.  3 

roll,  and,   amid   the  taunts  and   gibes  of  your  comrades 
in  arms,  you  should  at  once  be  drummed  out  of  ihe  army. 

2.  The  word  service  implies  obedience.  No  greater 
curse  can  be  inflicted  on  an  army  than  disobedient 
soldiery. 

The  lawlessness  of  the  Northern  army  is  one  of  our 
grounds  of  hope.  Their  marked  disobedience  to  the 
orders  of  their  commanders,  tl^ir  total  ignoring  of  all 
authority,  is  obliged  to  terminate,  as  it  has  already  done 
at  Bethel,  Bull  Run  and  Manassas,  in  defeat  and  dis- 
grace. Now,  Christian  soldier,  you  acknowledge  that 
you  have  renounced  all  allegiance  to  our  enemy,  the 
devil,  and  therefore  have  an  honest  and  honorable  right 
to  fight  under  the  proud  banner  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel.  But  one  of  the  essentials  of  a  good  soldier,  I  just 
now  said,  was  obedience.  It  matters  not  how  great  your 
loyalty,  without  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  the  Captain 
of  your  salvation,  you  cannot  look  for  victory.  Do  you 
perform  every  duty  laid  down  in  the  "Army  Regula- 
tions of  the  Christian  Soldier"'  —  the  Bible?  When  the 
enemy  of  our  happiness  is  continually  prowling  around 
our  encampment,  do  you  never  slumber  at  your  post, 
jeoparding  the  valuable  souls  of  your  companions?  Do 
you  perform  every  duty  and  discharge  every  obligation 
that  is  enjoined  upon  you?  Or  do  you  shirk  duly 
whenever  an  opportunity  offers?  Do  you,  in  short, 
rebel  against  the  authority  of  those  whom  Christ  has 
appointed  your  officers,  thus  sowing* seeds  of  discord 
in  our  encampment,  and  placing  us  at  the  mercy  of  the 
enemy  ?  Do  you  not  remember  what  the  centurion 
says  of  the  obedience  of  the  soldiers  under  his  com- 
mand ? 

3.  Inseparable  from  the  idea  of  service  is  that  of  self- 
denial.  The  soldier's  life  is  emphatically  one  of  hard- 
ship.    Aside  from   being  separated  from  those  we  love, 


4  MUSTERI.D    INTO    SERVICE. 

from  our  cherished  homes  and  our  Sabhath  and  sanctu- 
ary privileges,  we  can  no  longer  lie  down  at  night  on 
soft  beds  of  ease,  we  can  no  longer  rest  beneath  the 
genial  shade  of  the  old  oak  which  throws  its  sinewy 
arms  above  the  well- remembered  play-o  round  of  our 
early  boyhood,  we  can  no  longer  tempt  our  sickly  p :  1 1  - 
ates  with  delicate  luxuries,  but  it  is  ours  to  sleep  on  the 
cold  ground,  with  our  knapsack  for  a  pillow  and  the 
blue  canopy  of  heaven  our  only  shelter,  to  march 
through  the  long  hours  of  the  weary  day  beneath  a 
blazing  sun,  with  a  hard  biscuit  to  satisfy  the  gnaw- 
ings  of  hunger,  and  the  warm  contents  of  a  heated  can- 
teen to  slake  our  burning  thirst. 

Thus  is  it  with  the  Christian  soldier.  There  are  a 
great  many  pleasures  which  must  be  given  up,  luxuries 
dispensed  wilh,  and  creature  comforts  sacrificed,  if  we 
desire  to  be  worthy  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  all 
these  things  are  for  our  good.  They  strengthen  and 
nerve  us  against  the  wiles  of  our  great  adversary.  We 
find  holiday  soldiers  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross, 
just  as  we  do  in  our  armies.  Men  who  can't  stand  the 
sunshine  of  prosperity,  who  can't  weather  the  winds 
and  storms  of  adversity,  who  can't  resist  the  alluring 
viands  which  Satan  places  before  them.  As  in  the  one 
case,  so  in  the  other;  such  soldiers  are  but  an  incum- 
brance, which  retards  the  progress  of  the  march,  and 
the  sooner  they  are  dispensed  with  the  better.  But, 
reader,  I  trust  ygu  are  willing  to  "endure  hardness  as 
a  good    soldier  of  Christ." 

4.  Although  you  have  renounced  all  allegiance  to  the 
old  government;  are  obedient  to  all  the  requirements  of 
your  officers,  and  endure  the  hardships  incident  to  a 
soldier's  life,  there  is  still  another  very  important  ques- 
tion. Is  your  service  willing?  Though  in  the  first 
instance   you   volunteered  your  services,  yet  it  does  not 


MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE.  5 

follow,  as  a  matter  of  course,  you  are  now  engaged  in 
this  work  with  a  perfectly  cheerful  heart  and  mind. 
You  may  have  entered  the  service  under  various 
motives;  it  might  have  been  under  the  momentary  in- 
fluence of  excitement,  or  through  desire  of  distinction, 
or  simply  because  you  ffad  nothing  else  to  engage  your 
thoughts,  and  have  found  the  duties  much  more  oner- 
ous than  you  expected,  I  he  yoke  of  confinement  too 
galling  for  your  warm,  impulsive  Southern  nature. 

Now,  unless  this  service  is  performed  with  perfect 
willingness,  not  only  is  your  lot  rendered  doubly  irk- 
some, but  the  duties  are  very  liable  to  be  carelessly 
performed,  and  ycmr  spirit  will  be  quickly  caught  by 
your  companions,  and  the  influence  exerted  on  others 
prove  extremely  pernicious  and  greatly  injure  a  cause 
in  which  every  one  should  be  enlisted  with  his  whole 
heart. 

How  stands  the  case  with  you,  my  fellow-soldier  of 
the  Cross?  Is  God's  service  a  delight,  or  does  his  yoke 
prove  grievous  and  his  burden  heavy  ?  I  do  not  intend 
discussing  the  origin  of  this  willingness  of  heart  which 
is  so  esstntial  for  the  well-being  of  the  army  of  the 
Lord,  but  only  say,  in  emphatic  terms,  as  you  cannot 
acceptably  serve  your  country  without  it,  neither  can 
you  your  God.  Says  the  Psalmist,  "  Thy  people  shall 
be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  The  consequence 
of  the  absence  of  this  willingness  will  at  once  be  obvi- 
ous to  every  thinking  mind.  t  It  must  eventually  end  in 
your  own  downfall  and  destruction,  as,  also,  in  all 
probability,  in  that  of  many  of  your  companions  and 
friends. 

5.  There  is  one  other  essential  element  in  the  service 
of  your  Saviour,  in  whose  ranks  you  are  now  enlisted, 
to  which  I  need  only  allude,  as  it  must  necessarily 
oftentimes  occur  to  your  own   mind.      I  mean  watchful- 


(3  MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE. 

nrss.  u  Therefore,  let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  others;  but 
let  us  watch  and  be  sober.'' 

6.  You  have  been  u  mustered  into  service,"  my  fel- 
low soldier,  but  what  sort  of  service  is  it  ?  Most  un- 
hesitaiingJy,  active  service.  Pain  must  be  endured, 
toil  borne,  self-denial  and  w%tehfulness  practiced,  if 
you  would  have  our  arms  to  be  victorious.  You  can  no 
longer  rest  quietly  at  home,  or  take  your  ease  in  your 
tent,  but  most  always  be  active,  "up  and  doing."  Not 
like  "dumb,  driven  cattle"  is  to  be  your  service,  but  it 
is  yours  to  be  "a  hero  in  the  strife." 

You  that  are  mustered  into  the  army  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  go  at  once  into  "  active 
service."  Be  watchful  against  the  foes  who  seek  your 
soul's  destruction  ;  he  firm  in  your  struggles  against 
the  devil  j  be  true  to  yourself,  true  to  your  country, 
true  to  your  God;  in  his  name  set  up  your  banner,  and 
you  shall  eventually  be  mustered  into  the  holy,  though 
active  service  of  the  victorious  ranks  of  the  heavenly 
host,  who  have  ';  fought  a  good  fight"  and  *'  laid  hold 
on  eternal  life." 


A  GUIDE  FOR  VOLUNTEERS. 

The  Leader.  The  Lord,  He  it  is  that  doth  go  be- 
fore thee.      Deut.  xxxi,  8. 

Behold,  I  have  given  him  for  a  leader  and  comman- 
der to  the  people.      Is.  Iv,  4. 

The  captain  of  their  salvation.      Hob.  ii,  10. 

The  Word  of  Command.  Fipht  the  good  fight  of 
faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.     1  Tim.  xvi,  12. 

Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you  like  men, 
be  strong.      I  Cor.  xvi,  13. 

Be  sober,  be  vigilant.      1  Pet.  v,  7. 

The  Enemies.  Your  adversary,  the  devil,  as  a  roar- 
ing lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour. 
1   P<  t.  v,  8. 

Fleshly  lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul.   I  Pet.  ii,  11. 


MUSTERED    INTO    8ERVICK.  / 

Principalities  and  powers — the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world — spiritual  wickedness  in  fcgh  pJaces.  1 
Pet.  ii,  11. 

All  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  the 
lust   of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life.       1  John  ii,    10. 

Standing  Orders.  Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith, 
quit  you  like  men,  be  strong.      1  Cor.  xvi,  13. 

Be  sober,  be  vigilant.      1  Pet    v,  8. 

Watch  unto  prayer.      1  Pet.  iv,  7, 

Watch  and  pray,  ihat  ye  enter  not  into  temptation, 
Mar.  xvi,  41. 

Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober-minded. 
Titus,  ii,  6. 

Looking:  unto  Jesus.     Heb.  xii,  2. 

Marching  Orders.  Turn  not  to  the  right  hand,  nor 
to  the   left.      Prov.  iv,  27. 

Walk  in  wisdom  toward  them  that  are  without.  Col.iv,5. 

Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  lit  all  thy  ways  be 
established.     Prov.  iv,  2(5. 

That  thou  mayest  walk  in  the  ways  of  good  men. 
Prov.  ii,  20. 

If  sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou  not,  etc.  Prov. 
i,  10-15. 

Bodily  Training.  I  keep  my  body  under.  1  Cor.  ix,  27. 

Mortify,  therefore,  your  members  that  are  upon  the 
earth,  fornication,  uncleanness,  inordinate  affection,  evil 
concupiscence,  and  covetousness,  which  is  idolatry. 
Col.  iii,  5. 

Whether,  therefore,  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.      1  Cor.  x,  31. 

Let  your  moderation  be  known  unto  all  men.  Phil,  iv,  5. 

Lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so 
easily  beset  us.     Heb.  xii,  2. 

Flee  aUo  youthful  lusts.     2  Tim.  ii,  22. 

Let  him  deny  himself.     Luke  ix,  23. 

Young  men  like  wise  exhort  to  be  sober-minded. 
Titus  ii,  (5. 

The  Weapons.  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  spiritual,  and  mighty  through  God.  2  Cor. 
xi,  4. 

Take  unto  you  the  whole  armor  of  God.  Having 
your    loins    girt    about  with  truths  and    having  on  the 


O  MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE. 

breastplate  of  righteousness;  and  your  feet  shod  with 
the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace.  Above  all, 
taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to 
quench  all  the  firey  darts  of  the  wicked.  And  take  the 
helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the  word  of  God.     Eph.  vi,  13-17. 

The  Watchword.  Emmanuel  —  (God  with  us.) 
Mat.  i,  23. 

The  Banner.  Jehovah  Nissi.  (The  Lord  is  my  ban- 
ner.)    Ex.  xxvii,  15. 

In  the  name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners. 
Ps.  xx,  5. 

Encouragements.  The  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee, 
whithersoever  thou  goest.      Joshua  i,  9. 

If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  Rom.  xii,  31 . 

I  am  thyshield,  and  exceedinggreat  reward.  Gen.  xv,  1. 

As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be.    Deut.  xxiii,  24. 

He  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
thee.      Heb.  xiii,  5. 

God  shall  supply  all  your  need.     Phil,  iv,  19. 

We  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  thai  love  God.      Rom.  viii,  28. 

Final  Victory.  We  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  him  that  loved  us.     Rom.  viii,  3. 

Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.      1  Cor.  xv,  57. 

To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in 
my  Throne,  even  as  I  also  overcome,  and  am  set  down 
with  my  Father  in  His  Throne. 

Cautions  by  the  Way.  A  soft  answer  turneth  away 
wrath.     Prov.  xv,  1. 

As  much  as  heth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men. 
Rom.  viii,  18. 

Love  your  enemies.     Mat.  v,  44. 

If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst,  give 
him  drink.      Rom.  xii,  20. 

[Having  met  with  the  plan  of  this  tract,  the  substance 
of  it  has  been  revised,  and  is  published  under  the  be- 
lief that  it  is  suited  to  do  good.]  —  Central  Presbyterian. 

PUBLISHED    BY    THE    SOUTH    CAROLINA    TRACT    SOCIETY. 


Printed  by  Evans  &  Cogswell,  No.  3  Broad  street,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
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